Bye Bye Ball

This could have been written by me, I'm desperate to break 80, am prone to slicing the ball and we're off the same handicap. After I'd hit a few of my iron shots today, I had a look at the divots I'd taken and they were all aiming way to the left, yet my ball-flight always swings right. Got a major problem with an out to in down swing methinks.

Had one of the strangest rounds I've ever had today. Started birdie-birdie and should have birdied the 3rd, then proceeded to play like I'd never picked up a club before with 2 doubles and 2 triple bogeys, both on par 3s. Another birdie on 10 and a few pars later I ended up with 87. How I can go from birdies to triple bogeys in the space of 2 holes is slightly worrying, shows a real lack of concentration.

I'll generally play in anything save for driving rain. Not much fun when you can't grip your clubs and your glove is sodden.

Title says it all really. Another round today where I was closing in on a 79, 8 over par through 15 holes then just fell to pieces and ended up blobbing 17 and picking up my 2nd shot on 18 just through frustration. I realise people will point out I should count myself lucky I'm shooting low 80's but it just seems that every single time I get close and seem on course to break the 80 I hit a bad shot or get a bad break. I'm getting more and more frustrated with it because I first shot an 80 well over a year ago now, and despite playing a lot over the summer, still haven't been able to get over that line. How long did it take you guys to break 80 (those that have)?

I have this problem with one of the par 3's on my course. I usually take a 5/6 iron, (anything more and I'll overshoot the green) and I can't remember the last time I didn't slice or completely mishit the ball off the tee. I've done it so many times I've got so used to making par from getting up and down.

I think you're probably right, I do tend to strangle my clubs a bit. Had 9 holes today however and besides the first 5 which were a continuation of the rubbish I've played recently, I played the last 4 at +1. I did 2 things (that I know of): 1) Stood a little further away from the ball leading to me coming around the ball a lot more and 2) Shortened my back swing which I figured lessened the chance of me making a mistake during the swing process. Really want to get back out there now, after those last 4 holes I feel like I might have turned a corner!

I find the harder I try to hit my drives and woods the more likely they are to fade but it's not a big problem with those clubs, just my irons. I just cannot not hit a fade with these clubs, it's so frustrating because I know whats coming and I cant do anything about it.

Hey all, After spending 2 months travelling and thus being away from the game I've played 4 times since I've been back and getting progressively worse with each round. I knew I had a problem with my irons 5-8 in that every time I hit the ball I hit a fade. There's nothing wrong with my ball striking, the connection is good and I get great height with my shots but whatever I try, however much I try to come round the ball on follow through I cannot get rid of this fade. I was on one of the par 5's earlier today, had hit a fairly nice drive down the left, took out my 6 iron and before I'd even addressed the ball I knew where it was going. Made a really nice connection but sure enough as the ball reached the top of its flight it fades down to the right and ended up in the trees. Anyone else have this problem with their mid to long irons and anyone know how to get rid of it?

I used to be terrible for club throwing and allowing one bad shot to ruin my mood and subsequently, my round. One of my favourites was if I'd missed an easy putt or had a bad end to the hole I'd throw my ball away, just chuck or kick it into the nearest bush/hedge and leave it there. Lately I've got a lot better, I've had a few injuries that have kept me from playing the game that I love so I've kind of come to realise that it's a privilege to be able to play. I still sometimes get mad and I'll drop my club in despair if I hit a bad shot (usually a drive) but I'm much better. Saying that I did lose it recently at a course I was visiting, I was playing fairly well but landed in a greenside bunker to find my ball was sat right down in someone's footprint. After thinning my bunker shot I turned and threw my lob wedge 10feet in the other direction to turn around and see people on 2 of the surrounding tees watching me. That was slightly embarrassing.

Thanks so much for that comment, that's so helpful. Unfortunately you seem to have misunderstood the nature of an internet forum; where people impart their advice, which may come from past experience, to those raising issues and asking questions, otherwise what's the point of having them? Oh wait, 'dsc123' doesn't agree with the fundamental principle of a forum, let's no-one talk about golf, share stories or anecdotes and shut it down. If you'd read my post I said I had already sought medical help and been diagnosed, my question was merely to people who may have experienced or be experiencing similar problems to me. I say you're an idiot. Thank you to those who haven't, unlike dsc123, been utterly useless in their replies!

Cheers for the replies guys. The pain occurs during both walking and hitting. I struggle sometimes up and down hills and through sheer distance I'll be in pain. Luckily it's my right knee not left, so that's one saving grace however every so often when bringing my right foot up in my follow through my big toe will just catch which sends a horrible jarring pain up into the inside of my knee. Coming out of bunkers and heavy rough causes pain as well. I've played a bit over the last 2 weeks and I'm going to try to get 18 holes in tomorrow. I've bought a good knee support which seems to be helping somewhat as well. I'm 90% certain I'll play the foursomes game, if it was a first round tie I'd definitely think twice but since it's a QF I'm just going to go out and hope it doesn't hurt too much.

Anyone got any advice at all? I think I might play it anyway, it's unlikely it will last the full 18 holes either way.

What annoys me at my course is the amount of people I see (and the majority I have to say are seniors) 'repairing' their pitchmarks by tapping the crater smooth with their putters. This pales in comparison to the divot and bunker etiquette, or lack of. There's little worse than hitting a cracking drive up the fairway to see your ball has dropped into a massive divot that some oaf couldn't be bothered to repair. Ditto for when your ball finds a bunker and you've got to play out from someone's deep footprint, as if bunker shots weren't hard enough!!

Hi guys, I've recently been experiencing some pretty horrible pain in the inside of my right knee. I went to a physio for a consultation and she diagnosed me with a cartilage tear. I've got to go for an MRI scan to discern the extent of the tear but she said the there's a strong likelihood of surgery. Meanwhile this summer me and my dad have been progressing nicely in our clubs foursomes competition, having reached the quarter-finals, we have a real shot at winning the thing which I know would mean so much to my dad and me. I haven't played since the diagnosis just under a week ago and our match will probably be organised for the coming weeks. My question is, do you guys think its worth trying to get around the golf course for the competition? Anyone else had a cartilage tear and tried to play golf?

While personally I love the game but am very put off by the stuffy and pretentious nature of some of the rules and mores, I completely agree. I'm not entirely sure how the players cope knowing nano-seconds after they strike the ball they'll be met with a deluge of inane screaming. It must be extremely off putting.

As the title states, I've never in nearly 5 years playing golf been so disillusioned and so unenthusiastic about playing. I feel like I've gone backwards whereas 2 months ago nearly every shot felt good, I instinctively knew which iron to hit and could hit them a long way. Now the distance has gone, and they are all over the place. 2 months ago 90% of my drives were a nice gentle draw and I was pushing 310-320 yards with a few of them. Now every single one I hit is a hook, starting out quite nicely then hooking viciously left at the top of its trajectory. Once favourites in my bag, I no longer have any confidence in my 7 and 5 woods, not knowing whether I'll hook those as well. A couple weeks ago I made a thread saying I'd had a lousy golfing week having been knocked out of 2 club competitions at the death. Well that week is turning into months - I lost another competition yesterday, a 9 hole knockout against a 24 handicapper, he only needed 6 holes I was that crap, I just couldn't hit anything and on the rare occasion I did I was punished for it. I feel like I'm at my lowest point as a golfer, form-wise, confidence-wise and with enthusiasm. Each time I go out I come back more and more depressed with how far downhill my game has gone, wondering whether I actually want to play again.

Not hit anyone else but I've hit myself with my own golf ball before. Smashed a fade into a group of trees and convinced myself I could find a way out if I kept the ball low. Grabbed my 7 Wood from my bag and set up to play off my back foot. Struck the shot beautifully however the ball found the trunk of the tree directly in front of me. The ball could have rebounded anywhere, shot off in any direction but snaps straight back at me, hitting me just above the right knee. It was fairly painful to say the least but I count myself lucky; it wasn't far South enough to crack my kneecap or North enough to ensure I never have children!

Just played in a medal at my club. Was all going very well for the first 5 holes, hit probably the best bunker shot I've ever struck on the 1st to get up and down for par, four holes later I'd only dropped 1 shot. Stepped up to the 6th tee and hooked one into the trees. Went to look for it but couldn't find it so had to trudge back to the tee while the group behind had already played. Hooked another one but managed to find this one, a couple of shanks, a bunker and a tree later I walked off with a 10 and my card ruined. Such a shame as well, I didn't let it get to me and had a tidy back 9 but the damage was well and truly done. Ended up with an 89 and I guess a handicap increase.

Feign injury??

This is so true. I hit that point the OP is talking about 2 or so months back. I just seemed to instinctively know which irons to take for a shot and could just generally hit them further i.e. I could hit an 8 iron 170 yards or my PW 120 yards and it felt good and I was hitting consistently rounds of 80-85. Recently though something is different. I'm just not catching the irons well at all and they are nowhere near as accurate. My driving has also gone to pot. There's something in my swing now that just doesn't feel right. Something, probably only very fractional, that is just out. Funnily enough though my putting, which has long been a weakness of mine, has picked up and I'm 2 putting much more regularly. What a strange game it is!

Hmmm strange you 'd get it in the right wrist when you're a righty. I'm a right-handed golfer and have some tendon problems in my left wrist from playing golf, so much so I have limited mobility in that wrist now. It's isn't painful normally until I start rotating and manipulating it. For me I'm 90% sure it's stemmed from gripping the club too hard and the position of the shaft in my hand.

I've got a date next week with a girl who plays at my club. She's supposedly quite good as well, not sure whether to really go for it and give it my all (I'm naturally pretty competitive) or to hold off and just take it easy. Looking forward to it anyway.

Yeh I think you're right. I seem to suffer from nerves big time. It seems to be a trademark of my game now that I start very well taking an early, often substantial lead, 3up after 4 today for example, then something goes wrong, I hit a bad shot or lose a hole then the slide starts. When I'm just playing a friendly knock around with my friends I'm usually relaxed and play well. In a competition however I just seem to do these stupid things: hooking my drives, duffing pitching wedges which is normally my most reliable club. I don't know, I'm just really frustrated with myself and the game at the moment. I really don't want to come across as big-headed because I've learnt that golf is a great leveler, but I should have quite comfortably won that match today but contrived to throw it away making mistakes I made years ago. Perhaps I just need to give it a rest for a while and not play. Thanks for replying.

Hi all, I'm a new member and just wanted to vent to some people who probably know how it feels to come off worse in games. I've just been knocked out of 2 of my clubs competitions in the space of less than a week, both times coming agonizingly close to winning. Late last week I lost on the 18th hole having scrapped for most of the back nine, missing a birdie putt that would have taken the game to a play-off by an inch. Today I didn't play very well and successfully blew a 3 shot after 4 holes to get drawn into another dogfight in the back nine, eventually taking the game to a playoff. My opponent and myself are both on the green for 3 with him having a 20 footer for par and me closer at around 12 feet. He's holed nothing all day so sods law dictates he'd rattle his in which he duly did. Once again I miss mine by whisker to lose again at the death. This is such a cruel game sometimes. Anyone got any words of comfort/similar hardluck stories?